Chapter 39 #2
“Sort of.” Varen pointed to a particular line. “This is what I’m having trouble with. It’s a security bypasser, but the security I’m trying to bypass is too strong. Some of the hardest shit I’ve ever gone up against. My hacking is a bit rusty since college…”
“Wait a second. You’re hacking something? Into what? Xan Ravenwood’s servers?”
“Exactly that.”
The look of determination on Varen’s face was almost unreal. Nala glanced at the screen again, hoping that it would suddenly make sense if she stared long and hard enough.
Is this the insides of Ravenwood’s security? For what? His business? His personal computer? Nala wasn’t sure exactly what Varen was hacking, but it had to be difficult!
“You used to hack?”
“Who didn’t? In my world, anyway.” Varen shrugged.
“Hacking was a point of pride as a kid. It was how we showed off to our peers. Who could hack into the school’s website and put up something funny? Who could hack a social media profile? Who could hack the website of a hate group? Stuff like that. As we got older,
the sites got harder to hack and it became more a point of proving shit to ourselves. I stopped hacking a few years ago to focus on my actual studies… you know, building stuff, not breaking into it.”
“Noble.”
“So like I said, I’m a bit rusty. It doesn’t help that Ravenwood has some of the hardest security to crack that I’ve ever seen. Not surprising, though. He’s got a lot to hide.”
“Seriously! What exactly are you trying to hack?”
Varen waved her hand as if that would make what she wanted suddenly appear. “I’m going back and forth between two different things. Specifically, I’m trying to hack into his email accounts and his home computer.”
“You can hack into his home computer?” This was starting to get beyond Nala’s ability to comprehend.
“Of course I can. Anything can be hacked if it’s on a network. Trust me, that man’s home computer is on a network. It has to be.”
“Okay. So how’s it going?”
“I told you. I’m having trouble with the security. It might be another day or two before I’m able to break through. If it takes longer than that… well, I’m afraid it might be impossible for me, or I might be detected.
I’m rerouting my IP address through half a dozen countries to throw them off my trail, but if someone worth their shit takes a look at who’s breaking in, they’ll figure it out soon enough.”
“That sounds scary.”
“It could be. We’re already on his shitlist. If I fuck this up, we’re as good as dead. No way they’ll let either of us hang around for much longer. You know… I’ve been thinking…”
“Yeah?”
“If this keeps going deeper, you might have to run.”
“What do you mean?”
Varen sat back in her chair and glared at her.
“I’m not going to be responsible for your death. I’d much rather shove a stack of money in your hands and send you off somewhere you’ll be safe under an assumed name. Do you understand? I can’t lose you like that too. I’d rather break up because it’s the safe thing to do…
than see you die like Desirée did.”
Nala put her hand on Varen. “I’m not going to die, Ven. Do you understand me? I have no intention of going down to that man or any of his cronies.”
“That’s all well and good, darling, but…”
“We’re not even going to talk about this right now.” Nala began to walk away. “You get back to your hacking, and I’ll leave you alone so you can do it. You better hack into it, Ven. I’m serious. I wanna see what that lunatic is hiding.”
“If I can.”
“Like I said, I’ll stop distracting you.”
Nala chose that moment to go back to the living room and start flipping through channels again.
While Varen continued to type on her computers, Nala thought more about what she had learned that night.
What she was doing, where she had been in her life.
What if Varen sent her away for her own good?
What would happen then? Mysterious money in her accounts?
Meeting up in secret in the middle of deserts? Would they have anything beyond… this?
Nala had to stop thinking about these things. She was living in a toxic soap opera, but in this show all the deaths were real and the threats looming in every shadow. A woman almost died in this room. Nala would have to go visit Robin soon.
The TV stopped on a 24-hour news network. Nala usually blocked out the “SHOCKING ANNOUNCEMENT: SOMEBODY DIED” headlines for her sanity, but tonight, she was hooked from the moment she saw the picture appearing on the large screen.
“Ven!” she called, hoping her voice was loud enough to break through whatever bubble Varen hid herself in. “Look!”
She felt her behind her within a few seconds. Right on time, too, for the news network broke from a sponsored product to the actual story at hand.
“This in from Germany: multi-millionaire and shipping giant Othello Gainsborough died in a car accident outside his home in Hamburg. Also in the car with him was his long-time girlfriend Melanie Marcus. She is currently in critical condition at a local hospital.
On-site investigators say the accident was caused by reckless driving, as photos from a local intersection show Mr. Gainsborough texting on his phone shortly before he crashed into a median and flipped his car three times. Doctors say he was killed instantly. We’ll report more as soon as we can.”
Varen took the remote out of Nala’s hand and turned off the TV. “Shit,” she muttered. “Time to get back to work.”
There was no need to discuss what had happened. Othello was the man mentioned in that letter Nala found in Xan Ravenwood’s office. Melanie must have been Sparrow’s real name. Now both were dead, or almost dead.
I wonder what they did to piss him off. Were they moved away on Xan’s insistence?
Or did they move on their own, to get away from Xan and people like Hawk?
Did it matter? Not really, because either way, it was Xan who had them killed.
No wonder Varen wanted to get back to her project.
The longer she sat around doing nothing, the higher Xan’s kill count got.
Nala wondered when she would be targeted.
Entry 19
Operation hack into Ravenwood’s database is underway.
It’s more difficult than I thought it would be, and I was giving myself a high level of difficulty to achieve.
The man has some of the toughest security I’ve ever seen.
If I have any hope of cracking it, I will have to spend all my days, all my energy, and know-how on doing this one thing.
How funny. My life has come down to doing something illegal after all. This comes after I swore to myself I would try to run my business with as much integrity as possible.
Well, I suppose this isn’t business. It’s much more personal than that.
Please hang on, Desirée. I’ll find out the truth soon enough. I’ll bring you the justice we deserve.
Then… perhaps I will finally be able to move on.